March is National Kidney Awareness Month! Kidney disease is often referred to as a “silent disease” because there are usually little to no symptoms during its early stages. The Qsource ESRD Networks aims to improve the quality of care for each and every person living with chronic kidney disease and receiving renal replacement therapy. The team has developed the Nursing Home Toolkit for how to care for your dialysis resident outside of dialysis.
Mark Your Calendar
Plans for the Culture of Safety Center's 2023 Annual Summit are in the works! Mark your calendar for August 3, 2023, at the Crowne Plaza Downtown Knoxville.
STAR Rating Improvement
The Qsource process of Quality Improvement and Quality Assurance leads to a higher level of internal integrity—and this elevated structure is reflected in the form of a better STAR Rating.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) uses a five-star quality rating system to measure the experiences Medicare beneficiaries have with their healthcare providers. It ranks all nursing homes on a combination of more than 15 different metrics. Understanding how to improve your STAR Rating can be complicated—Qsource helps you understand where to focus your efforts.
CMS announced the transition of the Minimum Data Set (MDS) assessment submission and reporting functionality to the Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES) will occur on April 17, 2023. Failure to obtain access to iQIES prior to April 17, 2023, will impact your ability to submit MDS records.
Candida auris (C. auris) is an emerging multidrug-resistant yeast (a type of fungus). It can cause severe infections and spread easily between hospitalized patients and nursing home residents.
Register now for the Program Coach training on May 2, 2023, to learn about the Tennessee Person-Centered Music Program (TNPCMP) and how to bring the benefits of music to the residents and staff at your facility. For additional information or to register for this event please contact Amanda Boulware, Program Coordinator, at amanda.boulware@tn.gov or 615-253-5206.
Deadline to Report Personnel Flu Vaccine Data
Beginning with the 2022-2023 influenza season, facilities that are part of the CMS Skilled Nursing Facility Quality Reporting Program (QRP) are required to report annual healthcare personnel influenza vaccination data through NHSN Healthcare Personnel Safety (HPS) Component. The deadline to submit is May 15, 2023.
Qsource Communities on Facebook
Qsource launched a new Facebook page called "Qsource Communities" where our partners and stakeholders can find upcoming events, relevant tools to download, announcements to share, and much more. Join the quality improvement community!
Listen and Learn
Our podcasts offer clinical information that is relevant and timely. The new podcast area has features designed to be user-friendly that allow you to access the episodes whenever you want, wherever you want. You can sort by topic and download podcasts from any of the popular podcast services like Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Want to keep up with the latest news, quality improvement projects and resources from Qsource? If your facility has a new administrator and/or DON, please send us their name, title, email address, fax number and phone number (if not the same as the facility's main number).
